The unusual curved design of the GE 22730 sets it apart from other converter boxes. Some have complained that the curve prevents stacking anything on the unit, but blocking ventilation holes is always a bad idea. The unit is quite small, and the shape does give it a distinctive look. It is also the only converter box currently available that has a multiple day program guide. The program guide covers eight days, although you can only view program information for a single channel at a time.

Despite those unique features, the reviews that I have read for the GE 22730 are mostly negative. There are complaints about disappointing reception and poor picture and sound quality. The CNET review in particular is quite scathing. If you’re interested in purchasing the GE 22730, then I would suggest taking a closer look before you do. Considering everything that I have read and seen, I still think that the Insignia NS-DXA1 is the best digital converter box available at the moment.

It seems unavoidable that many people won’t be able to receive the digital versions of analog stations they previously could receive. Part of the problem is the all or nothing nature of digital television, or what is called the “cliff effect”. Part of the problem is caused by the changed reception areas created for the new transmitters. The FCC has gone to great lengths to try and keep the digital reception areas as similar as possible to the analog areas. But it would be technically impossible to make them identical. This can work the other way too; the reception area of one digital station in our area moved considerably closer to us than the analog equivalent.

The article’s conclusion seems to be that many people will need to upgrade their antennas. The article is specific to the Washington, DC area, so they are mostly talking about people who have strong signals but suffer from multipath and other reception problems. Outdoor antennas are usually necessary for people in weaker signal areas, but indoor antennas can often work well for people in urban areas. Washington isn’t exactly a “fringe” reception area, so it is likely that something as simple as a Silver Sensor would suffice for many of these people.

If you do live in a poor reception area, then the situation is quite different. A better antenna won’t help if there is no signal to receive in the first place. Where we live, we will probably lose one or two channels after the transition. That is alleviated somewhat by the three extra sub-channels belonging to our local PBS station. Signal strengths should improve in February 2009 when all TV stations move to their final allocations and power levels. I’m hoping that those improvements will be enough to push some of the weaker stations back in the viewable category.

The Netflix Player doesn’t download movies, but instead streams them from the Netflix web site. It comes with a remote control, but no keyboard. To watch a movie on the Netflix Player, you first need to use your computer to put the movie in your “Instant” queue on the Netflix web site. The contents of that queue appear as available movies on the Netflix Player, and you can use the remote control to watch any of them. You can also pause a movie, fast-forward and rewind, and even stop the movie and resume it later.

The Netflix Player has a number of interesting features:

• it can output composite video, component video, S-Video, and HDMI
• it can output analog and digital optical audio
• up to four Netflix Players can be attached to one account, although only two can play movies at the same time
• there are no additional charges for any Netflix customer with an “unlimited hours” account

It also sounds like there are a few disadvantages:

• it requires a moderately fast internet connection
• only about 10% of the 100,000 movies in the Netflix library are available for streaming
• fast-forwarding and rewinding are a bit awkward (a common problem with streaming)

Since I seem to be one of the few people in the country who has never subscribed to Netflix, I was unfamiliar with their rental plans. According to the Netflix web site, there seem to be three “unlimited hours” pricing plans:

• 3 DVDs at a time for $16.99
• 2 DVDs at a time for $13.99
• 1 DVD at a time for $8.99

The number of DVDs refers to the number allowed out in the mail at one time, so I am confused about how this concerns the Netflix Player. If you didn’t want to receive mailed DVDs, then what would be the advantage of having one of the more expensive plans? My assumption is that most people will still want to receive DVDs in the mail and will use the Netflix Player to supplement their viewing. I’ll be interested to see how this experiment turns out.

Channel Master 4221

The Channel Master 4221 is a mid-range antenna, with a stated range of 45 miles. This type of antenna design is called a bowtie dipole, easily understandable if you notice the four “bow-ties” visible. The main part of the antenna (excluding the pole) is around two feet wide by three feet high, considerably smaller than any combination VHF/UHF antenna. Despite the smaller size, UHF reception is much better than any combination antenna can deliver. On the other hand, the 4221 has no VHF reception at all.

Although the stated range is 45 miles, it is important to remember that range is very dependant on your location. You might achieve over 45 miles easily in some places, but struggle with 20 miles at others. But if reception is at all possible, then the 4221 is one of your best choices.

Channel Master 4228

The Channel Master 4228 is a long-range antenna, with a stated range of 60 miles. It is essentially two 4221′s placed side-by-side and connected together. Not surprisingly, it is around twice as wide as the 4221, twice as heavy, and twice as expensive.

In addition to greater range, the 4228 is far more directional with a much narrower “beam width” (around 15 degrees for the 4228 versus 45 degrees for the 4221). A directional antenna can be good in that it can reject stations located too close to each other. It can be bad in that aiming must be more precise, often requiring a rotator.

One curious feature of the 4228 is that it has surprisingly good reception of high-VHF (channels 7 to 13), even though it is the wrong type of antenna for VHF. This is well known, and good high-VHF reception is apparently just a quirk of the design of the 4228. But if your only VHF stations are high-VHF, this could mean that you don’t need a separate VHF antenna.

A while ago, I detailed my thoughts about the available digital converter boxes in our area. After weighing the options, I decided on the Insignia NS-DXA1. It is a good unit, and I would recommend it to anyone with a coupon to redeem. For a closer look, you can read my review of the Insignia NS-DXA1.

But we still have one coupon left, so I thought I would see if the local options had changed at all.

Just like before, Best Buy had plenty of the Insignia NS-DXA1 in stock. The person I spoke to said that it was very popular but they were having no problems keeping up with the demand. Radio Shack had several of the Zenith DTT900 in the store, but still none of the RCA DTA800. Although it is apparently common in other places, I have yet to see a RCA DTA800 for sale in this area.

The biggest difference was at Walmart. They now have a special section dedicated to the Magnavox TB100MW9. Curiously, the price has returned to $49.99, three dollars less than just a few weeks ago. As part of the display, they had a clock counting down to the analog shutoff date of February 17, 2009. Presumably this helps remind shoppers that they don’t have much time left. They had a large space for boxes of the TB100MW9, but only two remained when I arrived. Before I left, both were purchased by two different people!

I also mentioned the EchoStar TR-40 in my original post. It was the converter box most eagerly awaited, originally expected to be available in March. The unique features of the TR-40 were:

• a program guide with up to seven days of listings
• event timers that could change channels
• analog pass-through
• a price of $39.99, effectively free with a coupon

But the ship date for the TR-40 kept being pushed back, with dates as late as July given.

Now EchoStar seems to have rebranded the TR-40 as the Dish Network DTVPal. The new unit seems to be a bit more curved (the best pictures I have found are here), but the specifications remain the same and the price stays at $39.99.  Some are quoting an availability date of mid-June.

My feelings about the TR-40 and the DTVPal are mixed. Analog pass-through isn’t that important to me, and event timers, although nice, are hardly a make or break feature. But I do like the idea of a seven day program guide. As I stated earlier in my review of the Insignia NS-DXA1, my main complaint with the NS-DXA1 is the limited program guide. It can only display program information for the current and next programs. This seems a bit weak considering that all stations are required to send program information for the next three hours. The DTVPal promises a program guide with up to seven days of information. On the other hand, according to what I have read, few stations send program information beyond the three hours required, much less the sixteen days possible.

Given the massive interest in the TR-40 and now the DTVPal, I have my doubts that EchoStar can manufacture the DTVPal in large enough quantities to make it widely available. I suspect that they will remain scarce for quite some time, probably until after our remaining coupon expires.

The type of antenna that you need really depends on the number of stations you can receive in your location and the strength. Predicting television reception accurately might seem like more of an art than a science, but there is still plenty of science involved. Two good web sites that can help you gauge your potential television reception are TV Fool and AntennaWeb. Both have services that can predict your reception based on your address. Considering all of the many variables involved, they both do a pretty good job. My personal favorite is TV Fool, but be sure to try them both and examine the results closely.

Given a choice, most people would prefer to use an indoor rather than an outdoor antenna. Inferior performance is the main disadvantage of an indoor antenna versus an outdoor antenna. This is because you rarely can mount an indoor antenna as high and you may suffer significant signal loss from walls.

There are two main reasons why you might choose an indoor antenna for your television:

• The stations you can receive are numerous and strong, so you can afford to lose a little signal strength.
• You live in an apartment or other housing where you can’t (or aren’t allowed to) install an outdoor antenna.

Two indoor antennas that I can recommend are the Philips Silver Sensor UHF/HDTV Digital Indoor TV Antenna and the Philips MANT950 Indoor/Outdoor Amplified UHF/VHF/HDTV Antenna.

Philips MANT950

The Philips MANT950 looks fairly inconspicuous for an antenna, even though it is around six feet wide. It looks somewhat like a long piece of pipe and can even be painted to match its surroundings. Unlike most indoor antennas, the MANT950 is durable enough so that it can also be mounted outdoors. If you do that, you can even use it with a rotator.

As proof of its inconspicuous appearance, one of the most popular locations to mount the MANT950 is near the ceiling in the room with the TV. Another popular mounting location is in the attic. Unlike many other indoor antennas, the MANT950 works with both VHF and UHF stations.

The Silver Sensor

The Silver Sensor is famous for its design, and some people even display it almost like a work of art. Like the MANT950, the Silver Sensor has excellent performance, although not quite to the same levels. Unlike the MANT950, the Silver Sensor works only with UHF stations, not VHF. This may or may not be a problem depending on the stations you can receive.

The unusual look of the Silver Sensor results from the fact that it is a log periodic dipole, rather than the more conventional television antenna designs normally seen.

The Silver Sensor doesn’t have as good performance as the MANT950, but it is much less expensive. If your stations are stronger and you don’t need VHF, then the Silver Sensor might be the better choice.

I chose the Insignia NS-DXA1, which is sold by Best Buy. Last week, I checked with the nearest store and they had plenty in stock. The final cost was $20 after using one of our converter box coupons. The cashier said that the boxes were flying off the shelves, but that they were having no problems keeping them in stock.

Just out of curiosity, I checked Walmart to see if they had any of the Magnavox TB100MW9. They didn’t, and the space on their shelves was empty. The store manager told me that they should have more in two weeks, but that demand had been huge. Also out of curiosity, I checked Radio Shack and they had around four of the Zenith DTT900.

I am very impressed with the Insignia NS-DXA1. It is a compact black metal unit, slightly larger than a paperback book. It has ventilation holes on the top, and runs quiet and cool to the touch. Some people have complained about heat problems with the Magnavox TB100MW9, but I doubt that heat will be a problem for the NS-DXA1.

After I hooked up the NS-DXA1 and turned it on, a brief setup menu appeared. Once I confirmed some settings, it performed a channel scan. The channel scan detected five channels (four of which were sub-channels of the same station). After thanking me for completing the setup, it switched to the first channel.

I have had little experience with over-the-air digital television, and I was pleasantly surprised. The picture is sharp, the sound clear, and the reception doesn’t fade at all. Our over-the-air reception seems dismal by comparison. Only rarely does the digital signal drop out or artifact, and I am only using a simple indoor loop antenna. I am sure that a better antenna would stop any dropouts.

I knew that two stations would be strong enough for us to receive, but I had wondered about four other stations. I had expected that all of them would be too weak, but I was curious to see what kind of signal strength they had. I was surprised by the fact that not a single station had any measurable signal strength at all. This isn’t a complaint with the NS-DXA1, whose performance with low strength signals is reputed to be quite good, but rather with the state of the signals available in our area. I intend to try out an external antenna soon and I hope to get a better idea of the signal strengths.

The simple program guide in the NS-DXA1 displays the name of the current program and the next program. It stores this information for each channel, and you can also see program names for a channel that you aren’t watching. However, if you haven’t watched a channel for a while, then you might have to switch back to reload its program information. You can also display a description of the program you are currently watching.

This is one of the few limitations of the NS-DXA1: the simple program guide is quite simple. The name makes it sound as though there is also a more advanced program guide, but the simple program guide is all there is. Some digital tuners have a six-hour program guide, but the NS-DXA1 is unable to look beyond the next program. More troubling to me is that you can’t see a description for any program other than the one you are watching; not another channel or even the next program. This is a minor quibble, and even a simple program guide is far better than having no program guide with an analog televisions.

I am very pleased with the Insignia NS-DXA1. It is a well built unit that does exactly what it promises. I like it and I plan to use our remaining coupon to buy another.